


The Guard and the Thief

by deaththerabbit



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, but mostly fluff???, fantasy au because apparently i cant write anything else, theres some blood in the first part and its kinda descriptive i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 17:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16163417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deaththerabbit/pseuds/deaththerabbit
Summary: Izumi works as a town guard hunting a particular thief, but has he finally met his end?!





	The Guard and the Thief

Silver steel tore deep into soft flesh, an ugly squelching noise accompanying the startled gasp of pain that came with being stabbed in such a vulnerable place. Blood spilled out from the wound as the short blade was dragged out as quickly as it had been shoved in.

Izumi stumbled backwards as blood began to spread at an alarming rate across the grey shirt that held the crest of the town guards. His sword slipped from his hand and he stared at the masked thief that had just stabbed him.

Blood dripped from the dagger, leaving a little puddle on the stone walkway that branched off from the main town road. The thief winked, ducking out of the way as one of the other town guards made a grab for him in retaliation.

“Hahaha, nice try! You’ve gotta be faster than that, if you want to catch me!” The thief spun on his heels and sprinted off for the trees just beyond town, waving the bag of gold coins he had stolen around like a gloating flag of victory.

This was not a particularly new experience, Izumi knew, although the stabbing part certainly was. A hiss of pain escaped his lips and he put his hand on the lantern post to keep himself steady.

The masked thief was always slipping in and out of town, as wriggly as an eel, stealing from those born into great fortune and delivering the gold to those who really needed it. It wasn’t as if it were a bad cause, and Izumi could definitely understand why he did it. It was more the fact that he was choosing a way of doing helping the poor that made it impossible for Izumi and the others to let slide, no matter how noble the cause was; the ends did not justify the means.

“Let him go.” Izumi hissed, one hand pressed tightly over his wound. “We won’t be able to catch him once he gets to the trees. He’s too fast and knows those woods better than we do.”

Reluctantly, the guards stopped their pursuit of the masked thief and returned to Izumi’s side. “Damn, he actually got you.”

“No shit! Are you seriously stupid, or something? You’re the ones that let him that close!” Izumi turned away from them, as if he were angry. “Get back to patrolling.” He grumbled, leaning over to pick up his sword.

Izumi hissed as his wound burned like fire with the motion. Still, he tried not to let it stop him as he straightened up again and sheathed his sword, facing the direction in which he lived.

“I’m going home to take care of this mess. You’re going to be the ones to explain why I won’t be making it to morning briefing.” He snapped, glancing back.

“Ahh...yes...yes sir! Ah, please also tell Mikejima-san that we’ll take better care of you next time.” The guards spoke up, expression growing fearful at the mention of Izumi’s lover.

“There won’t be a next time.” Izumi avoided eye contact at the mention of Madara. He had a bone to pick with him tonight. He’d gone a bit far this time, and Izumi was not happy.

Without waiting for a response of any sort, Izumi made his way home, trying not to bleed all over the town as he went. It didn’t take long to make it there, despite his injury.

Madara was already there, waiting with a somewhat sheepish expression on his handsome face. “Ah, I’m glad to see that you’re home in one piece! Let me help you sit down, and I’ll fix you right up, hahaha!” He leapt to his feet and dashed to Izumi’s side.

“You _stabbed_ me!” Izumi snapped, pulling away from Madara, a mutinous expression on his face.

“It’s not like I wanted to...you would’ve gotten in trouble if your friends found out that you’re sleeping with the thief that’s been plaguing the town’s rich folk! I had to do something!” Madara gave Izumi a grin, as if what he had said automatically made things better.

“That doesn’t mean you have to stab me!” Izumi snapped, trying to pull away when Madara leaned in to lift him up.” The expression on his face was that of utter betrayal and pain that stemmed from the hurt of Madara being the one to stab him instead of pain from his wound.

Izumi knew that Madara had taken care not to stab him somewhere that would end up being fatal and that he had tried to make the wound as shallow as he could without the other guards getting suspicious, and he was not quite as angry as he probably should have been, considering the circumstances.

Madara, seeing no shift in Izumi’s expression, began to doubt, hesitation clear in the way he stopped his outstretched hand halfway from taking Izumi’s. “You know I didn’t mean to hurt you, right? I’m sorry, you know…” His usual liveliness gone, Madara hesitantly continued reaching out, taking Izumi’s hand in his own gently.

“Hmph, that’s not a good enough apology.” Izumi tried to pull his hand away, only for Madara to drag him into a surprisingly gentle hug. It was...difficult to stay mad when Madara was upset about it and in the end, Izumi couldn’t help but forgive him for his little indiscretion.

Forgetting about the blood, Izumi reached up and placed both hands on Madara’s cheeks, pulling him down for a kiss and leaving smears of red along one cheek. He wasn’t surprised when Madara picked him up in his arms and carried him back to their room.

Madara gently set Izumi down on the bed and lifted up his shirt, a frown growing on his face when he saw the blood still streaming from the wound, albeit at a slower pace than before. “Sit still, and I’ll take care of ya!” He zoomed out of the room and did not reappear for several moments.

Izumi laid back among the pillows and blankets, putting his hand back over the wound to try and keep from losing too much blood. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, supposing that it was better to be hurt like this, instead of by someone who actually wanted him dead.

He opened his eyes when he felt the bed shift with Madara’s weight, and glanced over at him slowly. Letting out another small sigh, he slowly sat up, only to be pushed back down.

“What are you doing? I can at least sit up. I’m not that badly hurt, y’know.” Izumi grumbled, but didn’t bother resisting. He was silent for a while after that as Madara set to work cleaning and bandaging the wound, but eventually he couldn’t help but speak up. “I think you should stop doing what you’re doing.”

“Hm? What do you mean?” Madara paused in his movements, looking up at Izumi with his brows furrowed questioningly.

“Your thieving. Look at what happened today. One day, you’re not going to be able to get away like that, and you’ll either be killed, or we’ll both end up in trouble.” Izumi glanced away again and sighed heavily, not quite wanting to see what sort of expression Madara was wearing.

“Ah, but who else will take over for me then? I gotta do it!” Madara spoke in a soft tone that was reserved only for Izumi. He resumed work, patching bandages over the wound carefully. “I’ll be more careful from now on! And if it’s such a big issue...you could join me, y’know!”

Izumi snorted and shook his head. “No, I can’t. It’s kind of the opposite of what I do now. Besides, that would still get the both of us into trouble, and it doesn’t really reduce the risk of you getting yourself killed.”

Madara shrugged a bit. “I had to try.” He leaned over Izumi and pressed his lips to his cheek. “Mm...I might reconsider my answer if you do one little thing for me, though.”

“And what’s that?” Izumi asked, narrowing his eyes slightly as he gazed at Madara suspiciously. “I’m not going to eat any of those sweets you brought home.” Tempting as they were, he needed to stay in shape for his job.

“It’s not that. It’s just something tiny and I don’t think it would be hard for you to do. I promise you that.” Madara grinned mischievously, face mere inches from Izumi’s.

“Just tell me what it is already!” Izumi huffed, glaring at him.

“Marry me! Marry me, and then I’ll quit and become your house-husband.” Madara’s grin widened as he stared at Izumi and waited for his answer.

Izumi, for his part, was utterly and completely stunned by the words that had come from Madara’s lips. His blue eyes wide and startled, as if he couldn’t quite believe his own ears.

“Well, what do you say?” Madara leaned closer, lips so close they almost touched Izumi’s.

“I...I…” Izumi gulped, staring into Madara’s gentle eyes. “Of course, I accept. How could I do anything different.” He mumbled, face beginning to burn red.

Madara tilted Izumi’s face up just enough so that their lip touched, and smiled. “Good, because I won’t accept any other answer.” He kissed Izumi gently, and then pulled away slightly again.

“I would have said yes, no matter what.” Izumi whispered, reaching up to wrap his arm around Madara and bring him down closer.

“Does that mean you won’t mind if I keep on doing what I do, then?” Madara tried, knowing already what he would say.

“Of course not! You said you would give it up if I did what you asked, and I’m going to!” Izumi huffed, glaring at him. “You’d better not go back on your word.”

“Oh, I was only joking. I would never go back on my word.” Madara kissed Izumi again, and then laid down by his side. “We should get plenty of rest. We’re going to be busy tomorrow.”

Izumi shifted into the warm safety of Madara’s arms and closed his eyes. He was as happy as could be in the arms of the thief that had stolen his heart, and would continue to be for the rest of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> hello hi i hope you enjoyed this!! It was so much fun to write!!! Thanks for reading!!


End file.
